The NGV and Arts Centre lit up on a winter night.

What's on this weekend in Melbourne

Discover things to do in Melbourne this weekend, from free events to exhibitions, attractions and places to visit.

Flinders Street Station illuminated blue at night.

What's free and what's open on the King's Birthday long weekend

Find the best free things to do, events to book and venues open on the long weekend.

The best RISING events on this weekend

Vintage black and white photograph of a dance class taking place inside the ballroom on the third floor of Melbourne's Flinders Street Station, shows a group of young people in white tops and black shorts performing a dance routine in a large hall with a wooden floor and arched ceiling.
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RISING: The Land of 1000 Dances

Experience RISING’s very own dance academy in the historic Flinders Street Ballroom.

Artwork featuring a bright yellow flower against a patterned background.
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RISING: Flower Power

Flower Power shares First Peoples’ knowledges, ecologies and ongoing resistance.

A collection of vintage Furby electronic robotic toys displayed on wooden shelves.
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RISING: Furby Chorus and FRIENDs

Domestic robots gather to converse through synchronistic movement for the Australian Dance Biennale.

A person wearing a gold crown and bright red tights sitting on a vintage armchair, giving a peace sign. Another person in a top hat and a light-coloured outfit is sitting next to them, holding a white parasol over both of them. They are in a room with a white textured wall and a patterned rug.
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RISING: We Come To Collect – A Flirtation, With Capitalism

Off-Broadway comedy-theatre that drags us into the darkness with a wink and a snarl.

A scene from the contemporary dance work Red by Australian company Dancenorth, featuring two people from the back, with their heads close together and their arms reaching upward into a dark void.
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RISING: Red

Dancenorth Australia brings Red to Melbourne for RISING.

A dynamic modern dance performance on a dark stage, with cloaked figures in the background and three dancers centre stage, one leaping in the air.
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RISING: Love Lock and Forever & Ever

Lock into two mesmerising works from Sydney Dance Company.

A band performs live on a stage with purple lighting and bright blue light beams shining outwards from the back.

RISING: Day Tripper

The festival-within-a-festival returns.

A live concert event at Fed Square at night, with a large, enthusiastic crowd gathered near a stage barrier.

RISING: God Save The Queens

A free, all-ages block party amplifying Pasifika culture heads to Fed Square as part of RISING.

English electronic music producer Daniel Avery, with shaggy tousled hair half covering his eyes, looking at the camera, wearing a jacket and seated at a table.

RISING: Daniel Avery

UK producer Daniel Avery is an auteur of otherworldly club bangers.

A large group of dancers from the Royal Family Dance Crew, in white tops and red pants perform a high-energy routine on a dark stage with dramatic lighting.

RISING: Defend The Throne – The Royal Family Dance Crew

Polyswagg dance royalty showcase their most iconic moves at RISING.

This weekend only

A group of people wearing aprons and standing behind a long wooden table as they participate in an Italian cooking class.
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Pizza e Pesto Masterclass

Craft pizza and pesto from scratch at this cooking masterclass.

The silhouette or shadow of a standing lamp against a golden orange background.
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Buffer Room Exhibition

Buffer Room explores movement, memory, and belonging through works by emerging artists in Melbourne.

A person browsing a stall at a local market or fair, which feature handmade soaps and natural cosmetics.
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MindBodySpirit Festival

Australia's largest health, wellness and spirituality festival returns for winter

Patrons dining in a restaurant.

Dinner and Dance Italian Night

An unforgettable evening of authentic Italian cuisine, great company and live music from Bella Ciao.

Comedian with light goatee and dark hair.

Long Weekend Laughs

Some of Australian comedy's biggest names come together to raise money for DEBRA Australia.

A live musical performance featuring a cellist creating a dramatic shadow effect against a wall while a scenic landscape is projected on a large screen behind them.

Where Song Began

Experience a cinematic concert celebrating songbirds

Two young men dancing at a nightclub.

Discoteca Italiana

A one-night only extravaganza where you can immerse yourself in the energy and romance of Italy.

Musicians, dancers and crowd dancing in a small venue.

Afrocan Days

Enjoy music, dance and a BBQ, with all ages welcome.

Two classical ballet dancers on stage during a performance of Romeo and Juliet by The Australian Ballet, against a set of a building at night, with a full moon casting a white glow onto the stage.
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The Australian Ballet: Romeo and Juliet

This winter, Shakespeare’s timeless tale returns to captivate Melbourne audiences once more.

A still depicting a scene from the musical La La Land, featuring the male and female leads dancing at night against a backdrop of the twinkling valley of LA behind them.
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La La Land in Concert

Enjoy a 10th anniversary screening of the film with a full live orchestra.

A Comic-Com panel of four women dressed as characters holding microphones and talking on stage.
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Melbourne Oz Comic-Con

A celebration of fandom, film, television, gaming, cosplay and creativity.

Essendon AFL football player running with the yellow ball during a match.

AFL Round 13: Essendon v Carlton

Celebrate the long weekend on King’s Birthday Eve by watching Essendon play Carlton live at the 'G.

Bar interior with lounge seating and twinkling lights.

Captain Jack's Variety Acts

Two hours of entertainment, from burlesque acts to drag performances and live music shows.

Graphic illustration featuring a lighthouse at night and several birds in the foreground.

Things I Want to See and Things I Want to Show You XIV

A free screening of experimental and independent animated shorts.

Outdoor market with tented stalls, strolling marketgoers, bare winter trees and city buildings.

The Lygon Street Market

A monthly open-air market held on the first Sunday of each month.

Large crowds gathered outside Queen Victoria Market stalls in celebration of the Taste of Portugal festival.

Taste of Portugal

A day celebrating Portuguese-speaking culture with free entertainment, food and merch for sale.

Crowd of seated AFL fans wearing Big Freeze branded beanies.

AFL Round 13: Collingwood v Melbourne

The Big Freeze game between Collingwood and Melbourne is celebrating its 12th anniversary.

Regular weekend events

Two young adults observing a sculpture in a gallery space with digital and scupltural displays.
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EMERGENCE[Y]

An exhibition exploring how adaptation in a world of flux unfolds in every layer of life.

Two people standing in front of a large pink spiky wall of speakers in an exhibition space.
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The Vinyl Factory: Reverb

ACMI and RISING present The Vinyl Factory: Reverb, a major exhibition of vinyl culture and music.

Private dining bubbles in a designed space with greenery and fairy lights.
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Fern’s Hidden Winter Garden

Enjoy a unique winter dining experience in a private botanical conservatory with sharing menus.

An outdoor alpine village pop-up event at Fed Square at night, featuring private wooden chalets, string lights, and a red carpet.
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Fondue Chalet

Melbourne’s much-loved winter dining experience returns to Fed Square.

An ancient Roman marble bust with its nose chipped off, displayed on a small square plinth.
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Rome: Empire, Power, People

This Melbourne-exclusive exhibition is a vibrant exploration of Ancient Rome.

A smiling woman with blond hair holding up a whole cherry pie in a dish in front of her chin, with steam rising from the pie.
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Waitress The Musical

The irresistible Broadway hit about resilience, friendship and hope.

A stand-up comedian talking into a microphone they hold in their hand, performing live on stage.
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Main Stage: Stand-Up Comedy

Have a laugh with stand-up comedy from Australia's best comedians, plus international drop-ins.

A large dinosaur model with its mouth open in a park setting.
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Dinos at the Zoo

Let your imagination run wild as you explore the trail of dinosaurs at Melbourne Zoo.

Three ballerinas on a darkened stage in glowing tutu dresses.
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Ballet of Lights: Sleeping Beauty in a Sparkling Show

The classic fairytale is reimagined with glow-in-the-dark costumes and luminous staging.

The full cast of the musical Book of Mormon on stage singing and dancing, with a painted sky coloured background and other theatre props.
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The Book of Mormon

Australia’s biggest ever musical comedy returns this February.

Market stallholder with her puppet toys, beside the Yarra River in the CBD.
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The Sunday Market at Southgate

Explore the Sunday Market at Southgate and meet the makers.

Novelty wind-up chattering teeth against a yellow background.
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Basement Comedy Club: Weekend Showcase

Bringing you the biggest names and best comedians in the country, and beyond.

Three people standing for a selfie on the ground at the MCG.
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Sports Precinct Walking Tour

Explore Melbourne's sports precinct on foot with a local guide, including a tour of the MCG.

Black and white photograph from the 1960s of model, Twiggy, wearing a mini-dress at the Melbourne Cup.
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Swinging 60s

This exhibition looks at what it was like to live in Victoria during the 1960s.

Two people on a stage giving each other a high five, one also holding a microphone.
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Comedy at the Coopers Inn

A comedy club featuring the best local, interstate and international stand-up comedians.

Workshop class participants smiling in a studio setting, holding up mosaic pots and coasters they have made.
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Mosaic Making Workshop for Beginners

Learn the art of creating beautiful mosaics from start to finish.

People looking up at the trees on a guided walk in the Royal Botanic Gardens.
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Aboriginal Heritage Walk

Wominjeka: journey into Melbourne Gardens with an Aboriginal guide.

Running tour jogging along a Yarra pathway with towers in the background.
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Yarra Sunrise Running Tour

Run Melbourne’s parks, landmarks and Yarra River at sunrise on this 8km tour with coffee to finish.

Two three-tiered cake stands displaying sweet and savoury cheese treats on a white table.
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High Cheese

A refined three-tiered journey, reimagined through cheese.

The shopfront of a Japanese-style craft workshop with brightly coloured craft materials on shelves and a neon sign.
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DIY Craft Workshops

Unleash your creativity at these workshops where everyone is a designer.

Interior of a bar decorated with colourful lamps, small paintings hanging on the red walls, with small tables and chairs arranged in the space.
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Melbourne Hidden Bars Walking Tour

Discover Melbourne's hidden bars – down alleys, in basements and behind closed doors.

A person pouring out a measure of Aperol into a metal measuring cup.
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Cocktail Making Class

Mix, shake and sip your way through the ultimate cocktail class in a hidden Melbourne bar.

The lobby of a comedy venue, with a blue velvet couch and red curtains.
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Sunday Night Stand Up Comedy Show

See some of Melbourne's best stand-up comedy, every Sunday night.

A group of smiling participants in a studio workshop setting, holding glass-domed terrariums.
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Serene Terrarium: Workshop for Beginners

Create your mini plant world while enjoying a soothing cuppa and a calming environment.

A large group of people in active wear all running on a path in park.
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Run the Tan: Run Club

Start the weekend off on the right foot with a run around the Tan.

Workshop participants smiling and holding multicoloured mosaic tiled coasters.
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Colourful Mosaic Coaster Workshop

Come and make mosaic coasters and step into the world of colours.

An early watercolour painting of Melbourne's Yarra River.
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Yarra: Stories of Melbourne's River

Explores the chequered history of the stream we call the ‘city’s river’.

A concrete green water trough for horses to drink from, in a Melbourne city street.
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Footsteps Through Time: Melbourne's History Walk

Step into Melbourne’s past on this two-hour guided walking tour of laneways and hidden stories.

A close up of flower made from enamel craft
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Cloisonne Enamel Painting Workshop for Beginners

Create a unique drink coaster using the ancient cloisonné art.

Three people on a walking tour with a Fit City tour guide, two carrying a takeaway coffee.
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Laneways and Lattes Walking Tour

Explore Melbourne’s hidden laneways with coffee, street art, history and culture.

Two people seated below a neon sign.
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The Story of the Moving Image

A permanent exhibition that journeys through the past, present and future of the moving image.

Animator and filmmaker Adam Elliot working on a claymation set, adjusting characters.
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Making Memoir of a Snail

Explore handmade sets, props and characters from Adam Elliot's claymation film Memoir of a Snail.

A group of people on a guided walk of the Royal Botanic Gardens, with trees in the background.
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Free Guided Walk

A free guided walk is the perfect way to enjoy the sunny weather in Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne.

Diners seated at a table and eating from plates that have designs projected onto them from above, as part of an immersive visual art and food experience.
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7 Paintings Dining Experience

A dinner show that combines art, technology, and culinary delight into a unique experience.

A small tour group looking up from the ground floor of the La Trobe Reading Room.
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State Library Victoria Unlocked

On this exclusive tour, gain access to State Library Victoria before the doors open to the public.

Three smiling workshop participants in a studio space, holding up jewellery they have made.
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Polymer Clay Earring Workshop

Create beautiful jewellery in this fun workshop.

A plate of fluffy pancakes with ice-cream and chocolate over the top.
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Chocolate Family Adventure Day

Enjoy an all-inclusive, stress-free family outing filled with fun, creativity, and delicious treats.

Three coloured gin-based cocktails with platters of snacks.
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Gin-dulgent High Tea Experience

Take your seat for a guided gin high tea like no other with bottomless sparkling.

Man holding an old-fashioned lantern outside illuminated Flinders St Station at night, wearing a suit and cap.
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Hidden Melbourne: Ghosts, Murder and Mystery

Take a spine-chilling journey back in time to explore the rich paranormal realm of Old Melbourne.

A dark interior space, with smoky purple rounds of light, silhouettes of people's arms pushing into these open spaces.
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Imaginator

An immersive experience that celebrates imagination, technology and play.

An Incan sun mask lying on greenery, part of the Machu Picchu: Journey to the Lost City virtual reality experience.
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Machu Picchu: Journey to the Lost City

A 4D virtual reality experience that lets you explore the Incan citadel in the Peruvian Andes.

Flinders Street Station lit up in blue at dusk during Melbourne's RISING festival, with city buildings in the background.
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RISING: Melbourne

A festival of new art, music and performance in the heart of Naarm/Melbourne each winter.

Installation view of the Spartans & Anzacs exhibition at the Shrine of Remembrance, with people walking around the space, reading panels and looking at displays.
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Spartans & Anzacs

This exhibition invites reflection on the enduring values forged in conflict.

Black and white photograph of a busy Melbourne city intersection with trams, cars, people crossing the road, and buildings, dating from around the 1950s or 1960s.
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Making Modern Melbourne

This free exhibition examines the tumultuous twentieth century in Melbourne.

Four rows of people sitting smiling and laughing.
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Kings of Comedy: Underground, Uncensored, Unrivalled

Enjoy stand-up comedy from future stars and celebrity guest headliners.

A group of musicians and singers, standing in a room with a piano, a green curtain behind them.

The Linda Ronstadt Show

Experience a dedicated Linda Ronstadt show, with Lisa Mio and Wild Dreamers.

Two different hands holding two wine glasses, resting on a restaurant's dining table, a plate of food and napkins also on the table.
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Mystery Sidedoor City: Wine and Asian Fusion Bites

Enjoy off-menu bites and paired drinks at a hidden Melbourne venue on this guided tasting adventure.

Actor Sarah Ruhl posing with her hand on her face and looking blankly ahead in a dark navy room.
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Eurydice

A luminous, poetic reimagining of the Greek myth, directed by multi-award-winner Gary Abrahams

A colourful woven artwork with different textures and patterns representing a map.
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Hyperworlds: Unreal Cartography

An exhibition from Allanah Sarafian exploring maps as emotional and ideological objects.

Performer breathing fire with head tilted at an angle.
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The Vaudeville Revue: Cabaret, Comedy and Burlesque

Experience Melbourne's most intimate variety show in a hidden gem of the city.

Four cabaret performers surrounded by pink and yellow feather fans.
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Cabaret Ridiculous

An hour of variety entertainment that’s as unpredictable as it is unforgettable.

A seated group of improv comedians, all looking seriously at the camera.
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Improvised Comedy: The Remix

Improvised comedy from true stories, sampled and remixed to create comedy gold.

See all events on this weekend

More to explore

People milling around Fed Square at sunset.

What's on today

Discover free events, epic festivals and shows on in Melbourne today.

A night tennis match at Rod Laver Arena.

Major events

From the Australian Open to the Melbourne Cup, major events take centre stage throughout the year.

A sunset concert at federation square

What's free in Melbourne this month

Everything to see, do and enjoy in Melbourne for free this month.

A chef cooking meat skewers over a flaming grill.
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What's on in November

Things to do in Melbourne in November, from free events to exhibitions and places to visit.